Were late filmmaker Pradeep Sarkar and Emraan Hashmi in talks for a musical thriller?

The Noti Binodini biopic that director Pradeep Sarkar planned to make with Kangana Ranaut had occupied the late filmmaker's attention for the past few years. But few people are aware that the late director, who died on March 24, was working on a different script at the same time.

Midday said that Sarkar and Emraan Hashmi had talked about making a romantic musical thriller. The actor was scheduled to make a call after reading the final copy of the screenplay because it appeared that he loved the idea.

According to the tabloid's sources, Hashmi was a perfect fit for the movie, which was envisioned as a fusion of music and crime. A trade source stated that the actor excels at romantic musical criminal thrillers. In films like Kalyug (2005), Gangster (2006), Raaz: The Mystery Continues (2009), or Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai (2010), he has already enjoyed success in this genre. Similar in theme, Sarkar's next film had Hashmi in the starring role as a charming yet cunning guy. The actor had numerous chart-topping movies during his career, and the director was renowned for having a strong ear for music. He joined because of the music as well.

The director and actor had a meeting this year to go over the project. If all had gone according to plan, filming might have started in August.

The source went on to say that before he suddenly left, Sarkar was putting the finishing touches on the plot and script. This was because Hashmi's enthusiastic response to the idea had inspired him to do so. The two were frequently in contact and had even talked about the idea of starting filming in the second half of 2023, should the actor approve of the project. The Murder actor has also talked about stopping filming before Diwali because he would be busy promoting Tiger 3 at that time.

In Maneesh Sharma's Tiger 3, Hashmi, who appeared with Akshay Kumar in Selfiee this month, will play an adversary who challenges Salman Khan's portrayal of R&AW agency Tiger.